The present invention relates generally to fuel tanks for vehicles and, more particularly, to a fuel tank cover assembly for a fuel tank of a vehicle.
It is known to provide a fuel tank such as a plastic fuel tank in a vehicle to hold fuel to be used by an engine of the vehicle. In such a fuel tank, a cover is provided for a fuel reservoir. The cover typically has fuel tubes, electrical connector, and rollover valve attached thereto. The cover is made entirely out of a plastic or metal material. Guide rod retainers and rollover valve bracket are welded to the metal cover, resulting in process variation between covers of fuel tanks. One concern with these fuel tanks is that the guide rods are rigidly attached to the metal cover and under severe impact conditions, the guide rods may damage the cover and sealing surface by tearing a hole in the cover or deforming the cover, resulting in a leak path, by retaining the inertia of the fuel reservoir.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a fuel tank cover assembly for a vehicle that allows the guide rods to break away under severe impact conditions. It is also desirable to provide a fuel tank cover assembly that eliminates welding of the guide rods to the cover for a fuel tank.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new fuel tank cover assembly for a fuel tank of a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fuel tank cover assembly with a separate cover and a breakaway insert adapted to decouple inertia of the fuel reservoir from the cover.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a fuel tank cover assembly for a fuel tank of a vehicle including a cover adapted to close an opening in the fuel tank having a fuel reservoir disposed therein and an insert disposed within the cover and adapted to decouple inertia of the fuel reservoir from the cover under severe impact conditions.
One advantage of the present invention is that a fuel tank cover assembly is provided for fuel tank of a vehicle that includes a metal cover with a one-piece plastic insert. Another advantage of the present invention is that the fuel tank cover assembly retains the guide rods and allows the guide rods to break away under severe impact conditions along with protecting a wire harness and fuel tubes from rubbing on a metal skirt. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the fuel tank cover assembly can also be used to retain the electrical connector and the rollover valve. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the fuel tank cover assembly reduces cost by eliminating welding of the guide rods and bracket to the cover. A further advantage of the present invention is that the fuel tank cover assembly improves quality by having the guide rod retainer and rollover valve feature molded in the same place each time, thereby reducing process variation. Yet a further advantage of the present invention is that the fuel tank cover assembly improves performance by incorporating a plastic insert into a metal cover, which will allow the fuel reservoir to break away from the cover under severe impact conditions.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.